The Impact of Daubert on the Admissibility of Forensic Anthropology Expert Testimony

Abstract

Forensic anthropologists anticipated a significant impact from the 1993 Supreme Court Daubert decision, which addressed the standard of admissibility for expert testimony. In response, many forensic articles cited Daubert in the search for objective techniques or a critique of established subjective methods. This study examines challenges to forensic anthropological expert testimony to evaluate whether Daubert has actually affected the admissibility of such testimony. Thirty cases were identified that addressed the admissibility of the testimony, including 14 cases prior to Daubert and 16 after Daubert. Examination of these cases indicates that post-Daubert cases do not result in more exclusions. Yet, this lack of exclusions may instead be viewed as a manifestation of the field's overall surge toward more objective and quantifiable techniques in a self-regulating response to Daubert.

The Estimation of Stature from the Tarsals: Enhancing the Disaster Victim Identification Process in Thailand Using the Calcaneus and the Talus

“…The Mohan criteria are: (1) Relevance: the admission of expert evidence must be relevant to the case at hand; logically relevant evidence may be excluded if its probative value is overborne by its prejudicial effect, if the time required is not commensurate with its value, or if it can influence the trier of fact our of proportion to it's reliability, (2) Necessity: expert evidence, in order to be necessary, must be outside the experience/knowledge of a judge or jury, (3) The absence of any exclusionary rule: evidence must be given by a witness who has acquired special knowledge through study or experience in the matter; evidence must not be obtained illegally or inappropriately, and (4) As a result of the Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and the Regina v. Mohan course cases, forensic anthropology in the United States and Canada has adopted a proactive approach towards testing and refining methodologies, evaluating intra-and inter-observer error, estimating error rates, and providing detailed statistical analyses. As a result, the methodologies used by forensic anthropologists have become more widely accepted by the legal system in terms of evidence admissibility and courtroom testimony (Lesciotto, 2015).…”

“…However, these methodologies must prove high levels of reliability, accuracy, and precision to be admissible in a court of law (Berg et al, 2007;Christensen and Crowder, 2009;Lesciotto, 2015).…”

“…In recent years, and particularly since the 1993 Supreme Court Daubert decision that addressed the standard of admissibility for expert testimony, the forensic community has become increasingly concerned with the reliability of methods from which scientific conclusions are drawn (Berg et al, 2007;Lesciotto, 2015). Reliability can be defined as "how frequently a method yields the same results between successive trials" (i.e.…”

“…This indicates that these measurements may not be accurately repeated in future studies and as such may be considered unreliable (Berg et al, 2007). Since the 1993 Supreme Court Daubert decision and the 1994 Canadian Supreme Court Mohan decision, the forensic community has emphasized the need for anthropological research and testimony to conform to certain standards; namely the methods and techniques used during forensic assessment must be based on reliable principles and methodologies (Berg et al, 2007;Christensen, 2004;Holobinko, 2012;Lesciotto, 2015;Williams and Rogers, 2006). If the techniques (i.e.…”

Accuracy and Reliability of Total Body Mass Estimation Techniques from Stature and Bi‐iliac Breadth in Non‐Hispanic U.S. Whites from the Bass Donated Skeletal Collection

“…As with the development of any new technique in the forensic sciences and forensic anthropology, body mass estimation methods must be rigorously tested to meet standards for admissibility of scientific evidence in medicolegal investigations (e.g., Daubert and Frye standards; see ref. ). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the accuracy and fidelity of a recent ST‐BIB method proposed by Schaffer from a large dataset of modern young adult individuals with healthy body fat percentages in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) 1988–1994 .…”